


Your Other Sequel: Tron 2.0 for Legacy fanfic writers

by Allronix



Category: Tron (Movies), Tron - All Media Types, Tron 2.0, Tron: Legacy (2010)
Genre: Analysis, Character Analysis, Essays, Fandom Meta - Freeform, Gen, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-18
Updated: 2017-01-24
Packaged: 2018-01-25 15:18:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,992
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1653242
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Allronix/pseuds/Allronix
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A detailed (lots of spoilers) guide to the Tron 2.0 timeline, including Ghost in the Machine, designed for fanfic writers who would like to integrate aspects of the "lost" Tron sequel into Legacy-based fanfic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Tron 2.0: The Game

**Author's Note:**

> This link (http://www.visualwalkthroughs.com/tron/tron.htm) is a walkthrough of the game with screenshots.
> 
> This playlist (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL68196A80068702B9) is a commentary-free Let's Play/Walkthrough for the game that does not display the email story breadcrumbs. It'll help for referencing the story in broad strokes.
> 
> The in-game emails can be found on the Tron Wiki here (http://tron.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_Tron_2.0_Email_%28transcript%29)

_Your Other Sequel: 2.0 for Legacy Fanfic Writers_

by Allronix

 

 

 _Tron 2.0_ is somewhat obscure, even in the fandom. Steve Lisberger requested permission to make a Tron sequel back in 2001, to celebrate the 20 th anniversary of the film. Disney refused, having no interest in green-lighting a second film at the time. However, they did give Lisberger a token budget and permission to make a video game based in the universe. Shopping around, he found a company willing to take up the challenge; Monolith Games in Kirkland, WA.

 

Monolith's approach was to make a first person shooter set in then-present day, centered around Lora and Alan's son Jethro “Jet” Bradley. It came out in 2003. While the original Tron movie was eaten for lunch in the summer of 1982 by _Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn_ and _ET: The Extraterrestrial_ , _Tron 2.0_ was eaten for lunch in the summer of 2003 by _Final Fantasy X_ and _Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic._ It, like the first movie, was still a modest success, with a graphic novel spin-off _Tron: Ghost in the Machine_ , re-sparking interest in the franchise. Sadly, when _Tron: Legacy_ and the _Flynn Lives ARG_ were green-lit, _Tron 2.0_ was declared non-canon and Disney hoped it would be quickly forgotten. However, there are many aspects of the _Legacy_ timeline that seem to be cribbed from 2.0's story arc, and aside from a single canonical detail (Lora's death in 2.0, where she is shown as alive in the ARG), there's surprisingly little direct conflict between the timelines, meaning a fanfic writer who wanted to integrate some or all of _Tron 2.0_ into _Legacy_ canon would not find it difficult. Furthermore, the characters of Jet, Ma3a, and Mercury along with the F-Con Trio would make fascinating additions to a band of heroes or a rogue's gallery. 

 

With that, let's begin with the plotline of the game itself.

* * *

 

 

**Part 1, The Story:**

 

 _Tron 2.0_ came out in 2003, and was probably a test-run for _Legacy_ and some of its related products like _Uprising_ and _Evolution_. The plot of the game itself is that a rival company called Future Control Industries (F-Con) is looking to buy out Encom for the digitizing tech. They plan to use it to digitize groups of elite mercenaries into Datawraiths so that F-Con can obtain and control anything from credit card numbers to state secrets. Those who control the data, control the world. (The F-con CEO is never seen, but Word of God says it was Dillinger Sr. Of course, if you piggy-back this to events in _The Next Day_ , it could be Master Control 2.0 as well.)

 

As far as F-Con knows, the only obstacle is Alan Bradley, who has been working obsessively on the digitizing algorithms since his wife's untimely death and close friend's disappearance several years earlier. He's hidden the data somewhere, but no one but him knows where. F-Con has been trying to work on the same technology on their own, but they haven't perfected it. Digitize a human without the proper corrections, and the end result is a virus-infected, barely-sentient monster. They digitized the traitorous J. D. Thorne into the system, and he's become an unstoppable living virus with the powers of a deity, infecting Programs by the score.

 

The virus infested Programs go insane, and become Z-lots, fanatically loyal to “Master User Thorne.” While the Z-lots are infesting Encom's systems, the terrible trio of Crown, Popoff, and Baza pay an unfriendly visit to Alan Bradley to intimidate him into handing over the digitizing tech. An unsuspecting Alan is on the phone to his son, Jet. Jet hears the struggle, races downstairs, and Ma3a turns the laser on him.

 

Once in the system, there isn't much for characterization. Jet's aided by a Byte sent by Ma3a. Byte is _very_ sarcastic and fairly oblivious to danger, while Jet is in over his head and just wants to find either Ma3a (to get home) or his dad (to help out). Worse, the Z-lots focus on him as a powerful Program to assimilate and the ICP (Infiltration Countermeasure Programs) think he caused the corruption!

 

Jet fights his way through several levels, and is able to free Ma3a from her docking clamps, but is eventually arrested and taken before the Kernel (pretty much your stereotypical “General Hardass” type). A mysterious Program (later revealed to be Mercury) talks him into putting Jet on the Game Grid. Queue three rounds of lightcycle races (which are a pain in the ass with this game). Mercury is current champion of the Games, and she uses a Flynn-style trick of making an escape route (in her case, a ramp of fallen debris to go over the wall). Jet dodges his opponents and vaults over the wall.

 

Mercury is a sultry, aggressive Program, and only knows her User as someone named “Guest.” She teaches Jet how to turn his lightcycle rod into an improvised weapon. Jet and Mercury split up to try and find Ma3a. Que more fighting until the Kernel declares the system a loss and engages a reformat. Jet is able to find Ma3a and head for an escape, but Mercury is caught in the reformat.

 

Jet is taken to Alan's home computer. Ma3a finally explains what the heck she was thinking when she zapped Jet – a User would be the best chance of clearing the corruption from the system. She also suspects something in the Tron Legacy code _(no relation, but worth a chuckle)_ will be able to help. Lucky for Jet, Alan is an archive nut. What else do you expect from a guy who probably _still_ uses an abacus to balance his checkbook? There are three emails on Alan's system regarding a certain security program we all adore. Thing is, Alan had an upgrade almost ready, albeit one with a few bugs. Curiously, as he was about to apply that upgrade, the project was suspended....Flynn's orders. _(Y'all went the same place I did, didn't you?)_

 

Jet leaves and gets on a packet transport back to the Encom system. In the 2.0 universe, Recognizers have been re-purposed into mass transit. Of course, you could always say that it's just the obsolete models that got re-fitted. He goes through the power routing system to get the archaic 1982 server back online (lots of brawling and jumping, not much plot), and then it's out of frying pan and into the fire with a Seeker. Think those sandworms from Dune colored a sick pink-purple and shooting freaking lasers from their orifice.

 

Well, he takes out that and gets dropped into the ancient mainframe. Here's where life gets interesting. The Tower Guardian, I-No, is an extremely pleasant guy. He also lets it slip that he was one of the Guardians the MCP kidnapped at the end of the first film. It's not a stretch to see him being BFFs with Dumont. He curiously mentions that while the legacy code is on the server, Tron himself retired, then vanished from the Encom servers shortly after Master Control's defeat. No one knows where he is or what became of him. _(Oh, REALLY now? Flynn, you sneaky son of a bitch...)._ Thing is, there are also a gauntlet of tanks to run, which Flynn programmed to be indestructible and read-only _(Flynn, you idiot!)_. So Jet runs the gauntlet, heads into the heart of the server, and has to overclock the thing so Ma3a can be uploaded to safety. The predictable results occur of the system shaking itself apart. However, he does reach Ma3a, I-no and the Legacy Code (which looks like a golden sphere). Jet gets the code, and escapes with Ma3a, but the old Guardian chooses to stay with his system to the end.

 

Next stop is the internet, which looks like Coruscant. Jet and Ma3a need a compiler to help them with the Legacy Code. They find one, but he isn't strong enough. And it seems that _every_ Program around has heard of Tron. His conspicuous absence is also a topic of speculation, the great hero with an unknown fate. The low-level compiler recommends heading to the Progress Bar. Unfortunately, there's an onslaught of Z-lots and Jet has to hold them off. After the fight, he meets Mercury, but she doesn't know who he is and her personality is gone. She's been re-installed from backup. After Jet fights off more Z-lots and a Rector Script (think a wraith or mini-Abraxas that spews the virus, infecting Programs in range), a grateful citizen gives him the permission to enter the Progress Bar.

 

The Progress Bar is a cousin of the End of Line; a place for the Programs to relax, dance, have a drink of energy, and hang out. There's also a compiler for those who want to use it. The DJ...well, he's no Daft Punk. So, Jet asks around and finds a tune most of the Programs would like played. While everyone's on the dance floor, he gets the code compiled. The code itself goes into Ma3a. _(However, Jet also volunteered to be a host for it! If that's not fanfic fodder...)_ The corrupted Thorne shows up and Jet had to hold him off while Ma3a is compiling the Tron Legacy Code code into her system. Worse, No sooner has that code compiled than Jet gets a video message from Alan warning him _not_ to do it! Remember that bug from earlier? Yeah, Alan never worked it out.

 

The bad code causes Ma3a to go insane, killing Byte in the process. Jet hops on his light cycle and hauls ass. Just as he's managed and escape, a Seeker grabs Ma3a. Jet fights his way across a remote node with the help of the amnesiac Mercury to get to Thorne's secure server and unlock the door to Alan's makeshift prison.

 

Back at the F-Con labs, it's explained that Alan hid the algorithms for the digitizer in Ma3a, explaining why Jet suffered no ill effects from the digitization. F-Con sent the Seeker to appropriate her for the Datawraith project. An Encom employee (they're merging the companies) also expresses worry that several Encom employees, including Thorne and the Bradleys, have gone missing. The F-Con guy ignores the Encom one. Worse, Alan gets caught outside the storeroom. Crown, the nastiest of the three F-Con goons, decide to make and example/test of him and throw Alan in front of the digitizer, zapping him into the system. _(This, if one is genre-savvy, was probably F-Con's dumbest move.)_ After they verify Alan is still alive and reasonably intact after zapping him, they prep the first batch.

 

Jet finally gets in direct contact with Alan, but Alan looks different. In fact, he looks like he borrowed his old security Program's duds and looks _**ridiculous**_ in them. See for yourself. Second picture on: (<http://www.visualwalkthroughs.com/tron/thornesperimeter/thornesperimeter.htm>). They're both on Thorne's server – a glow in the dark apocalypse. So while Alan hides from corrupted Programs (he's unarmed), Jet sides with the ICP Programs to fight off the virus. They'll need to find one another and then find Ma3a, as she had the algorithms to get them home. Thorne probably knows how to get to the F-Con servers and where they'd hide Ma3a, so they need to find him before the ICP units do. Eventually, Jet battles his way up to the system's core. Thorne's there, Alan's there, but so is the ICP Kernel, and the Kernel just wants to de-rez Thorne and Jet outright! However, the Kernel allows a one-on-one battle with disks to determine the winner. Jet dispatches the Kernel, but Thorne is on the verge of death. Before the poor bastard finally dies, he tells the Bradleys that his PDA has a dial-up connection that bypasses the firewall.

 

Jet gets uploaded to the PDA, but the PDA is junk; Alan has to be left behind. From inside Thorne's PDA, Jet has to turn everything on and put such a drain on the memory and power that the OS decides to cry “uncle” and push him to the F-Con server. All well and good, now all Jet has to do it bring Alan over. Brawling his way through F-Con's sockets, he finally knocks down enough of them to take down the firewall. Here is his first encounter with Datawraiths. They're neon purple, masked, and can appear and reappear at will. They also don't speak, instead emitting an eerie clattering noise that Rinzler would only make on his worst day. The Programs are terrified of them. Configuring and aligning the socket rings, the connection is made, and Alan's through! Cut to the F-Con lab (<http://www.visualwalkthroughs.com/tron/lostalan/lostalan.htm>) where Crown, Popoff, and Baza are freaking out about not being able to locate Alan in the system and that there seems to be another someone helping him.

 

Jet clears the area of Datawraiths and F-Con ICP units for Alan to follow. They discover the virtual server F-Con plans on using to deploy the Datawraiths across the internet go steal information they oughtn't have. Alan takes a look at the schematics while Jet goes to take out the server's docking clamps. Jet heads to the tethers and Alan contacts him. The server is powerful, but unstable. They're going to crash it from the inside. Jet wonders if they'll go down with the ship. To Alan's credit, the idea of a heroic sacrifice never crosses his mind. The plan is to destabilize the server, grab Ma3a, and get out before it crashes. _(Apparently, that “dying heroically” nonsense is Flynn's tactic, not Alan's!)_. Meanwhile, it seems that when Jet de-rezzes a Datawraith, the corresponding mercenary is dumped back at F-Con's digitizer lab, unconscious. They finally figure out that there really is another User in the system helping Alan out. And while the poor bastards at least survive long enough to get to a doctor, we have no idea whether or not they _remain_ alive for long.

 

Jet takes out the docking clamps, fights off a squad of Datawraiths, then heads to the cargo bay. More Datawraiths and another Seeker wait. He takes those out and hops a transport to the server itself. Fighting his way down to the server's core, he starts engaging a series of override circuits until the server starts to take down functions to stay online. He then finds Ma3a and Alan, surrounded by ICP guards. Again, Jet dispatches those. Alan takes over trying to debug Ma3a while Jet heads to the stabilizers – once those go down, the server is history. To do so, it's another lightcycle chase against Datawraiths in training and they consider five of them to one opponent perfectly valid odds. Just when it looks like Jet isn't going to be able to hold out, a _fully-restored_ Mercury swoops in like a Big Damn Hero and helps Jet corral the Wraiths.

 

And that's when the Terrible Trio at F-Con decide they're going to win the Darwin Award and go in themselves! Baza balks, but Crown uses his usual combo of bribe and bully to get Baza in on this insane stunt. They get digitized...but Alan's freed Ma3a. The Terrible Trio became corrupted in transport.

 

Jet is able to get into the command module and start the system crash. Again with the horde of Datawraiths and ICPs trying to stop him while the place is literally falling apart around his ears. Just as he reaches the digitizer stream to go home, he sees Mercury. She's sad to see him go, and comments that the Program world is “too crude and rudimentary. ” Jet repiles that _**humans**_ are the crude ones, and that we're not ready to exist in the Program's world. He tells her to save herself, and she promises she will. Ma3a activates the beam and Alan steps inside. Unfortunately, when Jet does, the Terrible Trio are right behind him, fused into a three-headed twisted abomination.

 

On a series of floating platforms, he battles the creature eventually knocking each one off and into limbo. As the last one is defeated, the digitizer kicks in and he arrives, safe, at F-Con labs. He's a little shaken about the whole thing, and comments that he'll never drop another laptop again. Alan retrieved Ma3a and Mercury managed to escape the server. As for the Terrible Trio? They're on a ultra-secure external hard disk, and Alan will try to do what he can for them...but it seems he's not in a big hurry to do so. F-Con's mysterious overseer _(implied to be Dillinger, but...)_ threatens revenge, but Alan cuts the speakers in mid-threat, saying he'll deal with that later, and the Bradleys walk out of the lab and away from the computers for a while.


	2. Part 2: The Tron 2.0 Timeline

 

 

**Part 2: The Tron 2.0 Timeline**

 

 

 _Tron 2.0_ states that Master Control was destroyed sometime prior to Feb 1982, taking the lion's share of the laser research with it. With the loss of the MCP, no one at Encom was able to replicate the digitizing technology. Of course, for those of us working with _Legacy_ , the dodge involved would be Flynn still had access, but decided to keep it quiet. Maybe his pattern was stored in there, meaning he, and only he, could go between the worlds safely. Perhaps The Grid was intended to be a place where he could tinker with the algorithms from the inside; possibly with Iso help. Maybe he was about to announce that he'd solved that issue and introduce the Isos when Clu decided to take over. This could be used as a dodge for that Idiot Ball Flynn was carting in regards to why he was making regular trips into cyberspace without anyone else.

 

The other main thing you have to dodge is Lora's fate. In 2.0's timeline, she was killed in October 1994 when the digitizer misfired. It's implied that she was partly digitized and that what's left of her is Ma3a. Whether this was an accident or if Alan did it deliberately isn't clear. Not like I'd put either option past Mr. Bradley. If you're feeling generous, and want to keep Lora alive per the Legacy timeline, say it was a near-miss or just use the “our spirit remains in every program” loophole from the movie. If you aren't feeling generous, she and Jordan Canas are sharing space in the fridge.

 

Here is a summary of the events in the “straight” Tron 2.0 timeline per the in-game emails:

* * *

 

 

February1982:

  * Master Control has been shut down by this point, and the secret to digitizing anything (or anyone) seems to have been lost with it.
  * Flynn comes up with the idea for the Tron arcade game and asks Alan for permission to use the name.



 

May 1982:

  * Flynn replies back to Alan and Lora's request for parental leave with a note of “you guys didn't waste any time, did you?” (Ah, the marvelous Flynn tact...) And adds that he'd be honored to be the kid's godfather.



 

December1982:

  * Jethro Eugene Bradley is born. 7 pounds and 8 ounces for anyone playing along at home. Flynn jokes the kid will beat his high score at Space Paranoids within a few months.



 

October 1983:

  * Flynn gives the green light to a Tron upgrade. There's an email from Alan that indicates Flynn told him everything, and said that he was worried about the digitizing tech falling into the wrong hands. Alan was skeptical of Flynn's story, but found the whole prospect of a human manipulating a computer from the inside “frightening.” Alan is assigned to work in the labs with Lora, rebuilding the digitizer and a ton of safeties.



 

December 1983:

  * Alan's been working on the Tron upgrade, but hasn't implemented it because of a slight problem...With the patch, Tron would go from fighting for the Users to “kill any User that invades the system!” _(Clu would probably trade five Isos and Jarvis's left arm for that code. Would have made “Rinzler” **much** worse)._



 

August 1984:

  * The plan to upgrade Tron gets shelved by Flynn himself, ostensibly to work on restoring the digitizing technology, since the MCP's destruction set them back. Alan's mollified by the chance to be working side-by-side with Lora. Even though Alan uploads the code to the server, Tron himself has curiously gone MIA from Encom's old server. _(Flynn, you sneaky bastard!)_



 

January 1988:

  * Math Assistant 1 (Ma1a) is implemented. By March, it's capable of recognizing 64 voice commands.



 

June 1990:

  * Flynn steps down from Encom. Walter Gibbs Jr. Takes his place as Senior Exec VP.



 

October 1994:

  * Lora Bradley has a fatal accident in the digitizing lab due to a misfiring laser. It's implied that she was partly digitized, and that what was left of her in the system formed the basis of Ma3a (explaining why it is Ms. Morgan's voice under all that distortion).



 

March 1998:

  * A note from Jet's high school indicating he's in trouble for mouthing off to a teacher and sarcastic remarks in the classroom, along with “despondent” behavior.

  * A note from the police sergeant saying that Alan left his wallet behind when posting bail for Jet.

  * An in-game flashback indicates that Jet was arrested for hacking into the school's mainframe, ostensibly out of “boredom.”




 

Feb 1999:

  * Jet's university grades: A in computer science, and 3 classes graded “incomplete.”



 

October 1999:

  * This is the last we hear from Flynn. It's an email asking how Alan is “holding up.” It appears as though Flynn's working on a screenplay about his memoirs, too. Alan jokes about who they'd cast to play his part. _(Ever watch_ Babylon 5 _, Mr. Bradley?)_



 

May 2002:

  * Thorne is passed up for a promotion to Vice President of Corporate Security. It's implied this is not the first time he put in for a promotion and got shot down.



 

June 2002:

  * Jet starts working the game division. Judging from the emails, Alan had to talk him into it because Jet needed a co-signer for an apartment lease, and Alan wasn't going to do it unless Jet had a steady job.



 

July 2002:

  * Thorne contacts Crown for “freelance work.”



 

August 2002:

  * Alan announces that with Ma3a's computational ability, the laser may be capable of digitizing organic matter again.



 

November 2002:

  * Thorne sees Alan run the “orange test” (zapping an orange through the system) and reports it to F-Con.



 

December 2002:

  * J. D. Thorne (Encom's security officer) is approached by to make the F-Con buyout of Encom a more hostile takeover.

  * A gossip email from an “Olivia” to “Nick” says the CFO of Encom is in trouble for misappropriation of funds.

  * Walter Gibbs Jr. starts laying groundwork for the merger with F-Con

  * Alan tries to talk Gibbs Jr. out of selling.




 

March 2003: The events of the game.

  * There is a note in there of Alan trying to contact Flynn using a home address, but there's no indication that Flynn's there to use it.

  * A note from “Patrick” (Games department head) to Alan saying that Jet is more than pulling his weight and will be bumped up to lead programmer for their next title.




 

September or October 2003:

  * The Ghost in the Machine comic



 


	3. Part 3: Ghost in the Machine

 

**Part 3, _Ghost In the Machine_**

 

First off, this comic is a first rate mind-screw on par with some of the Grant Morrison  _ Doom Patrol _ and  _ Animal Man _ runs. Even the “explanation” given at the end of the comic doesn't really cover everything that we saw. However, there is some first-rate deconstruction of the universe's premise in this comic, and some first-rate character notes for anyone trying to write Jet. 

 

The intro establishes a few things. Encom was on the forefront of computer networking as far back as the 1970's, and it was these algorithms and protocols that culminated in Master Control. The events of the first film take place in late 1981. And in this timeline as well, Flynn's behavior became increasingly erratic over the next few years until he vanished.  _ (Remember: this is not supposed to fit the same timeline as  _ Legacy _ , but boy...you gotta wonder how much of this Horowitz and Kitiss decided to read) _ Alan and Lora were working on the team rebuilding the digitizer until Lora's fatal accident in 1994.  Over the years, Alan buried himself in work, and things with Jet progressively went south. 

 

Flash forward to six months after  _ Tron 2.0 _ 's events. Inside the Encom system, they are running a backup. We see a list of program names on the list, including Mercury's. However, it gets to Jet's name and reads an error message, with a message that files are being restored from a backup system with a 0.07% data loss. Jet.0023785.exe is rezzed into the system. We see Jet in his elaborate, blue-circuited Encom armor. He's still disorientated and shaking it off when he comes face to face with a red-circuited mirror image of himself. 

 

Back in Analog, we see Jet hunkered down in what's left of his godfather's arcade (he at least fixed up the apartment to live there). He's quit his job at Encom and become a recluse, afraid to touch computers with a side order of PTSD. After all, he did live through a first-person shooter! Alan is trying to convince him to come out of hiding; he knows what Jet saw and had to do in there, but can't stand to see his boy in pain like this. He's paid for Jet to go see a shrink, the same psychiatrist that Alan saw for grief counseling. Jet acquiesces, and we see Dr. Asplinger's office. Asplinger also had Flynn as a patient, briefly, and heard about the computer world, though it's clear he really doesn't believe Flynn or Jet's assertion it exists, mere that they believed it did.

 

Here's where we get the moment that made me fall in love with the character.

 

“ _It's one hell of a laser. I have nightmares most every night. Vivid nightmares. Usually, I'm back there, in the computer, but I'm not really in control of my own body. I'm watching myself, watching from the outside. It's as if there's something_ _** else ** in there, watching and directing things, controlling me, and when I wake up, I can still  ** feel ** it, radiating from every computer or cell phone or anything... _

 

_ It's an entire universe in there. One we created, but it's beyond us now. Really. It's outgrown us. You know, every time you shut off your computer...do you know what you're  ** doing ** ? Have you ever reformatted a hard drive? Deleted old software?  ** Destroyed an entire universe? ** I was a programmer. It's all I ever wanted to be. I spent years, day in and day out, manipulating code, writing... ** It's too much. ** It's too much power. I never wanted this. I never wanted the responsibility. I just wanted to make games.” _

 

Wow.

 

Cut back to Alan. He is working with Ma3a to isolate an unknown subroutine in the Encom servers. It ends with the speaker phone activating, and the word “Lora?!”

 

Two rent a cops at Encom watching the security cameras see Jet enter the building. Inside the computer system, all of Jet's assets – bank accounts, credit card, phone service, power bill – all of it disconnected or payment history deleted and destroyed. Meanwhile, Jet comes home to find the power out, a frantic phone call from his dad informing him there's a warrant out for his arrest, and to come to the lab immediately. He hears someone else in the room with Alan before the line goes dead. With the cops knocking on the arcade door, Jet slips out the back, onto his motorcycle, and racing to the Encom labs. He comes in to find his father missing, Ma3a not answering voice commands, and the last known security footage showing what appears to be him shooting his father at point blank range! Trapped in the lab and the cops closing in, the only escape he has is the laser.

 

It's out of one bad situation into another as he comes to in cyberspace, fully armored. As he's shaking off the transport disorientation, a female Program leading a squad of fighters addresses him as “conscript” and tells him to get going – there's a war to fight. Before he can protest, a swarm of gridbugs pounce on the squad, picking the off quickly. Jet snipes with his disc and fights best he can, but in his panic, unleashes a burst of wild energy that destroys almost everything in several meters' radius – ally and friend alike. The strain is so great he falls unconscious and is picked up by another squad looking for the first – a lone survivor. Their commander, however, is skeptical about Jet – how did one guy manage to survive all that damage? The medics patch him up, and give him a memory patch. It turns out this rag-tag army is fighting a resurrected MCP, and gearing for a final assault on his dock. _(Note: his speech bubbles are now outlined in_ _** blue ** ) _

 

Jet is still very confused. The “patch” has turned his memory – short and long-term – into a mess. One of the medic assures him that the fragmentation and dissociative feelings are normal as the patch does its work. Still, something about this doesn't make sense – wasn't Master Control already destroyed? And isn't he completely outdated compared to modern-day Programs? There's no real time to answer the questions as the troop transport he's riding is attacked. Crawling in the wreckage, Jet finds his disc and what attacked them. He fights the Recognizer with the only weapon he has at the time – his disc – to block its attack and gets in a lucky shot that send it crashing. Once again, the strain is too much and he blacks out. While the medics are scratching their head as to why he isn't de-rezzing and trying to transport him out of there, he hears a voice _(the speech bubble lined in_ _** green ** _ _)_ telling him to wake up – he's in danger.

 

The commander from earlier is now highly suspicious. Surviving a gridbug wave is one thing, but taking down a fourth-generation Recognizer with a  _ disc shot _ strains logic. Unfortunately, Jet really can't remember a thing, even after two memory patches and a defrag.  _ (So if you wanted to screw up a User, there's a good idea to work with...)  _ Worse, his disc is unreadable and there are no records in the system to identify him. The commander orders the guards to de-rez Jet, but once again, his abilities fire and the commander is knocked out. Jet is able to get away and runs into Mercury, who is impressed with the new trick. Even in his glitchy state, he remembers her. He hands her his disc, and she applies another memory patch to try and help him, and they get away. 

 

Mercury explains the situation; Master Control is indeed back, more powerful than ever. The system is at a stalemate. She activated an abandoned I/O Tower to call him for help. She was behind enemy lines at the time and couldn't risk him getting captured. She then informs Jet that he overrode the commander and took over his functions, meaning he's in charge of the army against the re-booted Master Control.

 

In his new quarters, Jet's confusion has only become worse. He can't really recall who – or what – he is. Subroutines and permissions easily assimilate into his code, his fingertips seem to pulse with energy. Pushing those thoughts aside, he injects another patch, and doubles over in pain.

 

Instant flashback to the lab – seeing himself shoot Alan and upload himself into the computer. But over the fractured flashback, he hears  ** Green ** again.  _ “Jet...listen to me. You have to trust me, Jet. You are in terrible, terrible danger.  ** None of this is real ** !” _ Reality falls away, and a portal opens, a white rabbit on his forelegs is beckoning to him. 

 

Back to analog. Alan is alive, and in the laser lab, where Jet is suiting up into something with many wires and electrodes attached to his body. The dialogue balloons are back to  ** black ** lining. Mercury sent a distress call, and Jet is anxious to get digitized so he can help her. Alan is more concerned about the safeties of digitizing. There's some unreadable data in the array, they both saw what happened with Thorne, and Jet has made over a dozen trips into cyberspace – with no data on what the long-term effects of repeated digitizations. Jet dismisses his dad's concerns by focusing on the present. 

 

** Alan: ** _ This isn't a simulation, Jet! This isn't a  ** game ** ! You've been digitized over a dozen times now, and we have  ** no ** idea what the  ** long-term ** effects might be... _

 

** Jet:  ** _ And we've had this conversation a dozen times, too. If I don't do it,  ** who will ** ? We created this universe, we have a  ** responsibility ** to keep it safe. The Programs in there  ** need  ** me. You know that. Now energize this thing. It's time to go give the MCP hell.  _

 

Alan fires the laser, but instead of arriving in cyberspace, a swarm of bugs seem to eat away the surroundings, leaving him in a white void. His dialogue balloons have now gone to  ** blue ** again, and he's with the white rabbit, who has been the  ** Green ** voice speaking to him. He walks on his hind legs, wears a jacket and gloves, and is chain-smoking cigars as he speaks. The white rabbit with the green speech explains that “they,” Mercury included, have been re-writing Jet's memory, keeping him helpless and disoriented, and very effectively so. Jet protests, the white rabbit can't be real. But the white rabbit shrugs it off. Of course he's not real, but  ** Blue Jet ** is no more real than he is! The white void around them becomes a cartoonish Wonderland parody. The rabbit explains that this wonderland is a construct of Jet's subconscious mind where they can talk in safety. He's been trying to countermand the memory patches, and warns Jet that the fight against Master Control is a trap. If he destroys the MCP, it means the end of everything. He then tells Jet that Alan is dead and his memories are false. Jet tries to run and falls into darkness... 

 

He wakes back up on the troop transport, but everything's changed. The Programs look...different, like the 1982 versions, Mercury included. They've been trying to patch his mind, but there's some untreatable corruption they haven't excised. Ma3a's protections and overrides integrated with his core functions are only mitigating the damage. Worse, the MCP has assimilated Ma3a, so they can't ask her for help. Mercury goes over the battle plan, but pauses to ask Jet how much he remembers. He remembers his life before digitization, his ordeal against Thorne and the Wraiths, but everything since seems...empty, not entirely real. He then tells Mercury about “Clarence” (his nickname for the White Rabbit), and expresses again how something seems fishy about Master Control's new reign of terror. Too much doesn't add up, and he's not sure whether his father is alive or dead. Mercury tries to comfort him, assure him it's just his fear getting the better of him, and that she's quite real. Just as they embrace for a kiss...

 

He gets a face full of cigar smoke. Back in Wonderland with Clarence. Jet is pissed that Clarence yanked him away from a good moment with Mercury and tells him to get out of his head. Clarence fires back that maybe Jet is in _his_ head, and tries to warn him again not to fight the MCP. Jet blows him off and storms back out to fight. 

 

** Jet: ** _ We've already had this discussion. If I don't stop the MCP, then who will? People like me, we created this universe. We have a responsibility to keep it safe. These Programs they need me! […] I know I'm in danger – it's war! I could die, or get derezzed, or whatever. I'm a big boy, I get that. _

 

The final assault begins and Jet is leading the vanguard into battle. Clarence, however, will not shut up., manifesting as an annoying hallucination. The battle below is horrifying with Programs from all factions dying by the hundreds. Jet is doing his best to ignore Clarence, but the rabbit increasingly gets shrill and panics the closer they get to the MCP's base. Strangely enough, Jet notices Mercury's appearance seems to have changed again. Shaking it off, they disembark from the transport and approach the MCP on foot. Face to face with the evil AI himself, Jet hesitates – this was all way too easy. They met very little resistance getting there, few guards. It has to be a trap. Clarence starts arguing that Mercury is the real enemy, and Jet clutches his head in pain. Sure enough, the guards burst in and Jet's squad is pinned down by a firefight. Now or never – he has to launch his disc. Clarence scolds him for being an overgrown adolescent dreaming of being a hero and getting the girl, too stupid to see what's really going on. Jet banishes the rabbit, gets up...and a shot from a tank de-rezzes Mercury. Grieving and enraged, he channels his older brother and fires his disc into the weak spot at the base...

 

Master Control stops...and the disc bounces off harmlessly. The soldiers, the tanks, the weapons...everything vanishes except Master Control...and a Jet Bradley double in Rinzler-red circuitry.  ** Red Jet ** beats the crap out of Blue Jet and captures him while Clarence looks on helplessly. 

 

Remember back at the beginning where Alan activated the speakerphone and exclaimed “Lora?” It's her face on the screen, as young and alive as she was in the first film. Her dialogue, however, is lined in  ** Red. ** She says that she needs Alan's help. She survived digitization, her consciousness fragmented and left inside the computer. She's been alone in the system so long...why did he leave her behind? Why didn't he look for her? Why didn't he save her? Alan freaks out, but “Lora” offers a tempting idea; bring Jet to her and they can rescue her from the system. He has the Legacy code. Between that and his genetic code, she could rebuild her body, return to analog. Her face and voice, as she speaks, twist from beautiful to a nightmarish parody. Alan realizes something is very wrong. This isn't Lora, and he's going to delete whatever is trying to pass for his lost wife. “Lora” mocks him further, stating that part of Lora was left behind...as Ma3a, but “she” has taken control of Ma3a, gaining complete access to Lora's memories and thoughts. Alan's still not budging on the devil's bargain, attempting to disable the laser and destroy the data needed to make it work. But all “Lora” needed to do was keep him talking. “She” creates fake security footage of Jet shooting his dad, and uses the voice recognition software to recreate Alan's voice and undo all of his security measures before shooting him with the laser. He'd be way too powerful in the system, so the laser shot was meant to kill him outright. 

 

It turns out to be an image shown on a viewscreen in  ** Red Jet's  ** torture room, and  ** Blue Jet  ** can only watch in horror, putting it all together. Red killed Alan. Red has been tampering with his memories. Red is pretty much channeling Dyson through all of this, administering torturous shocks to Blue, and laughing off his counterpart's heroic narrative; he the evil mastermind who killed Jet's father, manipulated Jet, and tortures the hero. Meanwhile Blue is the weary hero, struggling against adversity, staying alive through luck and tenacity. Red mocks Blue's narrative as the product of arrested adolescent fantasy. Maybe he's just dead...and in hell.

 

Back in analog...Jet wakes up in Dr. Asplinger's office. He was so exhausted, he fell asleep during the session. The doctor explains that the “evil” version of himself in the nightmares is just a manifestation of guilt over his mother's death and a safety valve for his resentment of his father, a separate entity he can blame for his negative feelings and cyberspace is an alternate reality where he can distance himself from the people who care about him. Nice theory, but the gigantic form of Red Jet crashing through the wall kinda blows the doc's theory. Gigantic!Red Jet plucks Jet off the sofa and  _ swallows him whole _ . 

 

_(I told you, this comic is a first-rate mind fuck)_

 

Back to the Chez Dyson torture chamber. Red is still mocking Blue

 

** Red: ** _ You still don't understand, do you? Sometimes you imagine yourself a hero, don't you, Jet? A crusader against the forces of evil and oppression. Sometimes the poor victim, trying desperately to avoid his fate, but always hunted. Always running. In a way, a grain of truth seems to have finally reached that dank little corner of your mind where you've retreated.. _

 

Back to analog, Jet is re-materialized from cyberspace, but something has gone badly wrong, he collapses on the digitizer pad, semiconscious. Alan rushes over to try and care for his son, but Jet babbles about how none of this is real. Alan tells Ma3a to call for an ambulance...And in come the police, with red eyes and red speech bubbles. The “Lora” from earlier scolds Jet, saying he could have saved her, used his power to rescue her – why did he let her die? The “police” open fire, killing Alan and closing in to arrest Jet while “Lora” continues to spew amazingly creepy garbage about how Alan was jealous of how close they were...(yeah.) But then the cops are attacked by a squad of blue-circuited warriors and a medic picks Jet off the floor, saying there's still a war to fight.

 

And back to Red Jet's torture room. When asked what he is?

 

** Red: ** _ Well that's a good question, isn't it? Am I a God? The creator and destroyer of all things? Or just a reflection of the “real” Jet Bradley, an echo left behind? _

 

Deciding it's time for Blue to get an “injection of reality,” he drags Blue into a toilet stall and tried to drown him in the crapper, screaming “ _ this world is what  _ **_ you _ ** _ make it! _ ” The world inside the computer nothing more than thought made real. Red is a backup copy made by the system, driven insane. He hates Blue, is jealous that Blue has the correction algorithms and the Legacy code that should have been his. Red then decides to torture Blue with another hellish vision...

 

October 1994, Encom Labs. And the Bradleys are in the middle of a nasty marital spat. Alan is jealous that Lora is still friends with Flynn. Lora argues that she can't change the past. Alan responds by escalating the accusations to her cheating on him. Lora protests that she never did cheat, but the accusation is enough – she's leaving and getting a divorce. Enraged, he attacks from behind, mortally injuring her. Still accusing her of cheating and casting doubt on Jet's paternity, he puts her on a digitizing pad and activates the laser...

 

Back to the torture room. Red is clearly having fun with this, mocking that even after finding a world where thought is reality, Jet questions if his parents loved one another, then shrugs and says they're both dead, sowhy does it matter? Blue remarks that it isn't true. _He can hear them calling._ And when Red tried to kill Blue, Blue starts laughing...Red's not the one in charge. Red is just _him_. Snapping his bonds, Blue gets off the torture bed and overpowers Red, re-integrating him. Blue and Red are now gone and a yellow-white version of Jet remains. Yellow declares he's coming for Clarence next. Cut to Clarence...the white rabbit appearance was just a mascot suit. He's got it half-taken off...and a **Green** version of Jet is beneath. Hearing Yellow-White is coming after him, Clarence panics.

 

See, back at the start, when the system tried to restore from backup and could not find the “real” Jet in the system, the attempt to restore led to three Programs being created. Red and Green knew they were not the “real” Jet, but Blue did not. With two integrated, he went looking for the third. Shattering “Clarence's” illusion, it's just the two of them on a grassy platform in the void. Clarence says that Yellow was a fool, giving up an autonomous existence and the chance for each version to exist in its own reality. The system around them is being torn apart. Clarence puts up a good fight, but it's End of Line, and the final re-integration completes. The world splinters to nothing.

 

The integrated Jet program is now addressing his User – the real Jet Bradley. Yellow's creation was an accident, and the final stage of an experiment. Integrated with Jet's code, the Legacy code, and Ma3a's correction algorithms, a Program was created that is powerful enough to come into the analog world. Unfortunately, the complexity of Yellow's data is destabilizing the system. They can bring him to the User world, but it will destroy the world he lives in and everyone in it. Yellow asks if the world can be saved. It can, but only by giving up the Legacy code that would allow him to ascend.

 

It isn't a question; the Program voluntarily surrenders the Legacy code, the algorithms, and the potential to join User-kind to restore his world.

 

He wakes up back in the Encom system, everything fully restored. Mercury is by his side. Checking to make sure he doesn't have User powers any longer, he walks off with her into the digital world, an ordinary and happy Program.

 


	4. Tron 2.0: Killer App for the GBA

 

“ _Inside every computer exists a world like our own, a world populated by living programs. Here programs carry out instructions given by the people of our world, people known to the programs as Users. Now, the Encom System has come under attack by a sophisticated virus, released by an evil and mysterious User._

 

_Tron, a legendary program with great skill in battle, has been called to combat this new and mysterious threat. Mercury, an advanced lightcycle program designed for speed and stealth, also finds herself defending the system. The fate of the Encom System rests in their hands...”_

 

 

Okay, so I just found a full walkthrough at this location (<https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6QKL_EtHhPM__2CXB2MP4V3uFky-c9Vy>)

 

Tron 2.0: Killer App was released in 2004 for the Game Boy Advance. It appears to be a sequel to the Tron 2.0 game, but actual placement in the timeline is a little difficult to assess.

 

The plot of the game is very simple, a mysterious User (again, heavily implied to be Dillinger, especially given Corey Burton is using the exact same David Warner impersonation he used KH2’s Space Paranoids level) has commissioned the H4x0r (creative names, they aren’t) to send a particularly nasty virus to compromise Encom. Alan reactivates Tron from long-term stasis to combat the threat, and he must team up with Mercury for a two-pronged attack on the virus. Tron will take out the malevolent User’s connection to Encom while Mercury tackles the virus itself. The player has a choice whether to play Mercury’s arc or Tron’s.

 

* * *

 

 

Tron awakens from stasis, aware he’s been offline for a very long time. Things must be dire if he is awake again to defend Encom system. He turns to Bit and asks if he has any idea what’s going on. (“NO!”) Tron goes out to investigate, testing his trusty Disc Primitive on some gridbugs along the way. Finding the sector deserted, he jumps into an abandoned tank to get to the next sector.

 

Mercury’s arc starts by her waking up from stasis by the attack and being summoned to the lightcycle grid. Finding the normally controlled sector crawling with gridbugs, she defeats those and also finds refugees from another sector. The refugees say they were uploaded here because Encom is being taken over and they had nowhere else to flee. One of them, Profet, states that he’s heard Tron has been awakened to fight the threat; legend said he went into stasis after the MCP’s defeat and will return in a time of great need. Mercury is quite skeptical of the whole King in the Mountain myth. Even if Tron did exist, he’d be obsolete and no use against modern threats and figures she’ll investigate this herself.

 

Tron, on the other hand, is having...about the same luck his little brother had in 2.0. The ICP units don’t recognize him and the Kernel flags him as a threat. He runs into Tattle and Profet, who Mercury spoke with earlier. they let him know what’s going on – Encom’s security was breached by some kind of virus, and it’s confusing the ICP forces so they can’t recognize it as a threat and are instead flagging innocent scripts as threats. Tron realizes that only a User could scramble the security codes in that way. Profet reaffirms his belief in Tron and Tattle laughs him off. Neither realizes they are speaking to the legend himself! Another refugee script states that the invader causing all the trouble calls himself “The Corrupter,” and yet another lets him know that The Corrupter is able to adapt and grow, making the infection more powerful the longer he has to learn about Encom’s inner workings. If something isn’t done soon, the whole network will collapse. Taking control of an abandoned Recognizer, Tron leaves the sector in search of more information. He admits it’s been a while since he’s flown one, and takes a moment to familiarize himself with the controls. Fortunately, he’s able to breach a firewall and find a lightcycle shortly afterward, which is much more his style. The Kernel and the ICP forces are baffled – there’s clearly a virus at work, but they can’t identify it or where it’s coming from. But there was a Program that just managed to scale the firewall – THAT must be their virus. Kernel puts out a “de-rez on sight” order for Tron! _(I swear, if you put Tron, Alan, Jet, and Beck together, their combined luck would fill about half a bottle cap.)_

 

Coming back from the lightcycle arena, Mercury is accosted by an ICP Trooper who states she’s not authorized and to prepare for de-rez. She kills the ICP in self-defense, but is confused as to why she’s being targeted. The Byte she’s traveling with states the security systems are on maximum alert, but like Tron found out, the security forces can’t tell friend from foe. After fighting her way through a couple gates, she sees a grotesque Program called the Corrupter forcibly converting the refugee Programs into drone soldiers. Outnumbered, Mercury flees the sector via the lightcycle grid. Out in analog, Alan notices that Tron and a lone lightcyle Program escaped the sector uncorrupted.

 

Mercury is able to fight her way out of the arena, and runs into a Program she doesn’t recognize. Fortunately for her, said Program is Tron. She’s a little surprised to learn the legend IS real. Tron briefs her; the malware she saw is called The Corrupter, and all that’s known about is that he’s rapidly brainwashing other Programs and overrunning sectors on the Encom network. There’s no information on Corruptor’s User, aside from it must be someone with enough inside knowledge of Encom to confuse the ICP forces and allow the malware to run unimpeded. Mercury volunteers to team up with Tron, and Tron says he’ll have to trust her – there’s not enough time to go after the Corrupter AND block the malicious User from the system. Mercury is to go after the Corrupter. Tron will disconnect the Corrupter’s User from the Encom system.

 

Mercury goes onto the next sector, aware that the ICP forces will still flag her as a threat. She finds a civilian Program and states she’s working with Tron to try and help. The civilian is relieved that the legends are true, but concerned that the situation must be dire if the hero’s returned. He points her to Fat2NE, a data repository Program with vast knowledge of the system. It’s her only lead at the moment, so Mercury pursues it. Along the way, she is able to rescue some of the corrupted civilian Programs by pushing them onto decontamination pads. One of them is able to give her directions, but it will take her straight through a Tank grid. Word also travels fast in the sector that she’s helping Tron and the civilians she rescues are happy to give her access keys to try and reach the data repository. Finding an abandoned tank, she commandeers to it fight her way to Fat2NE. She finds an archive stating the plan:

 

“ _I’ve created a path to get out little virus past Encom security. Access secrity codes through the Encom network nodes. Encom will eat itself from within! Make sure your payment is on time. Thanks! - The H4X0R”_

 

Mercury makes a note of it – Tron has to take out the network nodes so that the ICP forces are able to recognize the Corruptor forces as a threat. Making her way to the data repository, she finds Fat2NE, but the old Program is badly fragmented and can’t be understood, Mercury has to find a way to defragment the poor script so that the sobers up enough to speak with her. This involves going to a defragment site and running the routine to clear up the sector. That gets Fat2ME back up and running. It appears he used the fragmentation to feign being too old and slow for the Corrupter’s forces to bother with. He knows how to shut down the connection the Corrupter’s User is exploiting, but he has no immediate answer for how to solve the problem of the Corrupter himself. He’ll need several seconds to analyze the threat and come up with anything useful. Mercury argues that she doesn’t have that long to wait (remember that time runs MUCH faster in the digital world than analog), and keeps on her quest; she’ll have to tell Tron about the weak spot in the connection. Fat2ME says he’ll call her if he finds anything. Mercury escapes the sector by commandeering a Recognizer. She’s wary of flying one – they’re a challenge for even the most skilled of pilots. Still, she manages to fight her way into the sectors where the Corrupter is hiding. Slicing her way into several terminals, she is able to activate a communication node.

 

Tron finds his way to the sector where the Corrupter was initially uploaded, having fought his way in and hijacked a tank to evade the ICP forces still breathing down his neck. The Kernel is pissed, and blows off his officer when told that Tron and Mercury don’t seem to be the source of the outbreak. And because this is _Tron_ we’re dealing with, the ICP tanks and soldiers sent to chase him have been rendered nonfunctional. The Kernel has had enough and plans on taking down Tron himself. The Kernel is waiting when Tron uploads himself into the next sector, and brushes off attempts to explain. He has about the same reaction to Tron identifying himself as he did to Jet’s attempt to explain he was a User ( _“_ _Ha!_ _Even if Tron was real, his architecture would be obsolete by now.”_ ). The only thing that knocks some sense into The Kernel is a few swift hits with a disc. But after getting schooled in disc combat, the Kernel backs down, properly humbled and apologetic over trying to kill the biggest badass to ever walk cyberspace. Tron takes it more or less in stride and tells him that the issue is the Corrupter’s User blinding the ICPs. The Kernel opens a port to the system that sent over the virus and provides a Recognizer for transport. Tron tells the Kernel that as soon as he cuts off access, start the disinfecting protocols and be prepared to help Mercury if necessary. Reaching the communications port on the User system, he finds the signal that Mercury is trying to open a channel and opens the connection on his end.

 

The two compare notes. Tron confirms that the Corrupter Program originated there while Mercury is able to tell him how to take out the User’s connection to the Corrupter. As long as the connection is open, the ICP forces cannot flag the Corrupter as a threat. But once the connection is taken out, Tron will have little time to escape before the sectors are purged. Mercury tells him to focus on the User and she’ll handle the Corrupter. Tron wishes her luck, but admits that he never learned her name. Mercury tells him who she is and wishes him the best of luck as well. She then speeds to the system core on her light cycle, and then commandeer a second tank, evading the Corrupter’s attempts to block her. Tron speeds off on a light cycle to reach the network nodes.

 

However, the User realizes that there’s something that’s impeding his attempts to nuke Encom, and sets Corrupter to self-destruct to destroy everything in one shot before he’s shut out entirely.

 

In the heart of the Corrupter’s sector, Mercury manages to cure an infected Program who says he’s a messenger from Fat2NE. The archivist found a weakness in the Corrupter. Mercury has to bounce her Rod off the two supporting pillars to evade Corrupter’s shielding. Mercury also finds another email:

 

“ _Have you initiated the virus’s destruct sequence yet? Make sure enough of the system is infected to maximize the damage caused! Cheers! - The H4X0R PS: Where’s my money?”_

 

And another:

“ _I’ve attached that file you requested - - The H4X0R PS: Seriously, where’s my money?”_

 

Worse, the door leading to the Corrupter’s lair is locked. Mercury realizes time is running out and that she needs to send another message to Tron before taking out Corrupter. Accessing a communications port, she updates him on the situation and he provides the permission to unlock the door. They’re now down to the last two enemies – the network node protection Securo for Tron and The Corrupter for Mercury. Tron evades Securo’s attacks long enough to destroy the nodes connecting the malicious User to Encom, and Tron has to flee back to Encom on a Recognizer and finish the trip in his light cycle, energy fading fast as the connection starts to drop and the ICP decontamination protocols sweep the sector to destroy the remaining viral agents.

 

The Corrupter laughs in Mercury’s face until he hears the announcement that the ICP forces can now recognize him and his forces as a threat. Tron was successful in breaking the connection, and it’s down to him and Mercury. It’s a fearsome battle, but Fat2NE’s strategy proves correct – her Rod richochets off the pillars and nails Corrupter behind his shield.

 

Back in his lair, the malevolent User all but goes “Curses, foiled again!” and vows that Encom hasn’t seen the last of him. Next time, they won’t know what hit them. Back in his lab, Alan breathes a sigh of relief. Looks like Tron and that “strangely adaptive light cycle Program” managed to save the day! Mercury and Tron turn to their respective sidekicks (Byte and Bit) and decide a long rest is in order, but they aren’t sure if the other was able to make it out in one piece.

 

* * *

 

 

Even by Tron standards, this is a little thin on plot and character, but it’s worth it if only for a few interesting bits. I’m not sure where it goes, timeline wise. The date of the game itself, 2004, would set it after 2.0, but unless Kernel and Byte were recompiled somehow, this would have to be set prior to 2.0. Another oddity is that Alan doesn’t seem to know who Mercury is in this game, where he did know who she was and explicitly sent her to help in 2.0.

 

As far as awesome bits to take away from it? It establishes that Mercury is primarily a light cycle Program. She’s not a designated System Monitor the way Tron is, but the great part about this game is how it explicitly demonstrates that she’s _**his equal**_ as far as combat, right down to the hit point count. So, if you are kitbashing the timelines, know that Mercury could probably fight Rinzler to a draw, if not kick his butt (being a rectified drone, he’s built more for flash and dazzle than effectiveness). That alone is pretty impressive. The game also has her using her Rods as throwing weapons in a similar way to Tron using his disc. For those who keep track of media litmus tests, this passes Bechdel (Mercury encounters several female NPCs, and they talk about the situation at hand) and the Mako Mori test (her arc is largely independent from Tron’s).

 

Tron’s arc is refreshing; minimal angst and pain, which is a welcome relief from the tragedy conga the Legacy timeline inflicts. If you want an idea on what he’d become if the coup (and Dyson, and Cyrus, and Clu, and…) never happened, this is a good general idea. He’s the friendly, trusting badass dork we know and love from 82!Tron, but a little less boisterous and maybe a bit lonely. It’s also great to note that he’s the focus of a “King in the Mountain” style myth among Programs, saying that he’s not gone, merely resting until the system’s darkest hour. In the 2.0 timeline, it’s refreshingly played straight; he wakes up, kicks ass, and then goes back to bed once Encom is safe. A Legacy-compliant continuity? Oh, Clu would have mountains of fun exploiting that myth, either by making it look like he has the favor of their legendary hero and he’s going to “save” them from some external threat, or by invoking a darkest hour scenario, letting the poor scripts hope for a bit, and then revealing their legendary “king in the mountain” as a brainwashed slave. A couple things of note appearance-wise. He wears a face-concealing helmet for much of the cutscenes, and his disc pattern isn’t the one we see from the original, but it’s the same as Jet’s disc pattern from 2.0. It’s probably an oversight from the designers, but there could be a fun story-based reason for a fanfic writer that’s so inclined.

 

There’s a few more interesting universe-based bits to add; an interesting blessing that crops up from some of the NPCs in game: “May the grace of the Users be upon you,” the various “merchants” in game who trade in units of energy as currency (so you essentially are buying subroutines with _hit points_ ), and a relative strength of Users – at their best, Tron and Mercury only have 150 units of energy which are used as hit points and ammo. Jet has, at his best, 300 units of energy that’s just for ammo, and 300 units of hit points apart from the ammo. There’s also the establishing parts where Tron and Mercury are both able to pilot tanks and Recognizers. The interface for both resemble the Space Paranoids game Flynn was playing in the film’s arcade scene.


	5. Part 4: Character Notes and Conclusion

**Part 4: Character Notes and Conclusion**

 

  
This is the last installment in the _Tron 2.0_ Guide. Again, for those who have played it, please feel free to add or comment on what I marked down here.  
  
This section goes into the characters.

 

* * *

 

 

**Character Notes:**

 

 **Jethro Eugene Bradley** : For the record, he _never_ goes by “Jethro.” In _The Ghost in the Machine_ comic, he is quick to tell the shrink that even his dad calls him “Jet.” First impressions are that he is laid-back, a bit unambitious, and mostly interested in making games, even turning down a promotion Alan was trying to arrange for him in order to become a lead programmer on Encom's next game. Scratch the surface, and Jet's more troubled than he seems. He and Alan...there's clearly a lot of love, but very little understanding. There are points where the resemblance to Tron and Beck gets...creepy, even appearance-wise. More than one person on DeviantArt joked that Beck may have been Jet's Program. _(That would make the family reunion even more awkward...)_ Jet can be reckless, and Alan means well, but Alan does have a very salient tendency to try and control Jet's life, which Jet chafes against. Their argument in the beginning of the game was that Alan tried to force Jet into a higher-ranking R&D position in Encom, but Jet was happy making games.

 

A flashback and emails indicate that Jet got into trouble in both high school and college. The high school principal remarked on Jet's tendency to make sarcastic interruptions and on his “despondent” behavior. There's also the one note from the police regarding Alan left his wallet when paying Jet's bail. It's stated in a flashback that Jet's arrest was for hacking into the school's mainframe. Jet says he did it because he was “bored,” but another way to read it is that Jet became very used to shoving down his feelings as to not trouble his already-grieving father, bottling them up until they get too much and he does something stupid as a result.

 

Inside the system, Jet is not very good at coming up with plans on the fly. Even more interesting is how readily he _takes orders_ from the Programs, mostly Mercury and Ma3a. His weaponry is very diverse. The disc is his mainstay, worn in a non-standard configuration mounted to his left forearm. The disc has a pattern on the center resembling the triforce. He also uses upgrades like Sequencer _(able to split his disc into multiple copies and fight with them. Rinzler would have this upgrade)_ and Cluster _(sends shrapnel spreading over a few meters when the disc makes a hit)_. Mercury showed him how to turn his lightcycle rod into an improvised shock weapon, and he upgrades with Suffusion (shotgun) and the LOL _(sniper rifle, unique to him as no Program uses it)_. He can also summon and use viral weapons like a Z-Lot without being infected, and the Datawraiths' Mesh weapons. It's also a game mechanic to decipher unknown subroutines into something he can use and purge his weapons/armor of viral corruption over a short period of time.

 

Assuming, as the comics implied, that “Blue Jet” is a near-perfect copy of Jet mentally, _Ghost in the Machine_ also proposed that he had a much more adverse reaction to his time in cyberspace than the Flynns did. The adrenaline wears off, and the implications set in. He knows now that _“It's an entire universe in there...Every time you shut off your computer, do you know what you're doing? Have you ever reformatted a hard drive...destroyed an entire universe?”_ It's also telling that “Blue” Jet handed his disc over to Mercury without question and allowed her to access and install a memory patch. Again, assuming “Blue” is the near-perfect copy personality-wise, this carries an interesting implication. He has such perfect trust in her that he essentially hands over his mind/life to her and thinks nothing of it. It could also be read that he has a combination of frighteningly skilled and horrifically naive that would easily get him mistaken for an Iso. 

 

As for a _Legacy_ fanfic writer? Well, Jet and Sam would obviously have grown up together, and probably were the type of friends that sat across from each other in a holding cell going “that was fun” at least once. If Sam's got anyone helping him with the annual stunts, it's Jet. Setting 2.0 prior to _Legacy_ would also require some fast explanation as to why Jet and Alan keep their mouths shut. The rocky-as-hell relationship between Jet and Alan was triggered by Lora's death in the game, but a Legacy writer could just as easily blame Alan trying to juggle Encom, the secret Flynn Lives conspiracy, taking in Sam, Lora being on the East Coast, _et cetra_ , and Jet getting lost in the shuffle.

 

 **Mercury (MCRY73.EXE, version 6.21)** : Seriously? If someone wanted to write up the idea of some leftover Tron and Yori code going into a new Program (creating a de facto “daughter”), Mercury would be a semi-canonical way to pull it off. Rebecca Romjin is the voice for Mercury, and with the distortion they put on her voice, she really sounds like Mystique from the Singer _X-Men_ films. Appearance-wise? Put the singer Pink in a gridsuit and call it a day. Seriously. Mercury is the undisputed champ of the Encom lightcycle arena, never defeated. She's more like the Grid types in that she's ruthless and cunning, able to con the Kernel into sending Jet into game slavery rather than outright execution, blast her way out of the arena, and her weapon of choice being a cross of escrima sticks and a tazer improvised from a lightcycle rod that usually requires sneaking up on and backstabbing your target. However, when the mission required her to sacrifice herself during a reformat, she got Jet out of the way without a blink. There was some implied romantic interest between her and Jet, but there wasn't a lot of screen time exploring it. At the end of the _Ghost in the Machine_ comic, she walks off with the Jet Program, implied to be romantically attached to him.

 

 **Ma3a (Math Assistant Three)** : It is heavily implied that much of Ma3a came from the part of Lora Baines-Bradley left behind after her fatal digitization accident. In-game. She is depicted as a floating gray ball with a gold mask and headdress that vaguely resembles Radia's from _Tron: Evolution,_ with some red highlights on her eyes, mouth, and headdress trim _._ She serves a similar purpose as a benign Master Control Program, overseeing many of the processes and Programs on the Encom system. She is voiced by Cindy Morgan under a large degree of distortion. She didn't act out of malice in digitizing Jet, just desperation, calculating a User would be 526 times more powerful inside the system than outside it. She is an ally of Jet's through the game, aside from the chapters where she is compiled with the bad Tron code. When compiled with the code, she takes humanoid form, appearing as a giantess in a black gown with yellow circuitry, her mask becoming red with gold trim and her directive twisted into killing all Users. 

 

 **I-No** : If Ram had lived to see old age, he'd be I-No. A terribly friendly and relaxed sort, he marvels at Jet's elaborate coding and addresses him as “stranger,” in the same way the nice old man across the street would use “kiddo.” The old Tower Guardian had been around for a long time, and even mentions that he was one of those taken prisoner by the MCP during the film's events. You can easily see him and Dumont having a quiet drink of energy, playing a friendly game of mahjong, and debating Program theology. He still is a Guardian, though. He chose to accept de-rez when the system he was on went critical.

 

 **J. D. Thorne** : After being passed up for Vice President of security for Encom, Thorne became receptive to bribes. When he was approached by Crown, he was all too willing to fall for the bribe and sell out Encom's security secrets. His PDA doesn't have a lot of contacts on – the pizza place, a therapist, a few work contacts, and his mom. He also had at least one cat. He agreed to get digitized, believing Alan was lying about the need for correction algorithms. Alan does not bullshit, and Thorne found out the hard way. The process was not stable, and he ended up being a personified computer virus, infecting half of Encom and turning his private server into a sickening wasteland. This did not bother him; in the digital world, he was now Master User Thorne, an unstoppable god of ruin.

 

Great Users, the writers for _Tron: Evolution_ had to have been playing _Tron 2.0_ at one point, because he looks like Abraxas's older brother and does almost the same thing in a computer system. However, Thorne is about nine feet tall (relatively) and can split his cloak into wing-like protrusions, revealing horrible scarring and green-yellow corruption beneath. So, the best comparison is crossing Abraxas with Darth Sion. He is able to corrupt Programs with a touch, summon hordes of his corrupted minions, and throw virus bombs. Jet and the corrupted Ma3a wounded him in the Progress Bar and the Kernel delivered him another beatdown while he was still weak. Eventually, his body just fell apart from a combination of wounds and corruption and he died in agony.

 

 **Seth Crown III** : Born 9-25-74 in Harlem, New York City. Went to Harvard and Cambridge, graduating with multiple Law degrees and passing the bar. He is a medium-built, sharp-dressed African-American man. He's listed in his profile as a “born leader,” but he's the kind of “leader” that scares or bribes his people into complying. He's the type of guy, it seems, for whom everyone has a price. He probably clawed his way to the top, fighting an inner-city upbringing, racism, poverty, and a lot of people dismissing his abilities because the guy is completely merciless and his body and face radiate anger, even with a glacially calm voice. He's the guy who could probably torture someone within an inch of death and still keep his voice even the entire time. (His voice actor? David Scully, AKA _Halo's_ Sgt. Johnson.) He's also the guy who keeps commenting that they “do something” about Alan, even after locking him in the storage room. One of the emails also states that he paid Alan a visit and made some “persuasive threats.” Whatever those threats were, they _worked_. Keep that in mind – this is a guy who _successfully_ scared Alan enough into giving up vital information. He was also the guy who made the call to “dispose” of Alan by getting him killed by making him Z-Lot or Datawraith target practice.

 

 **Dr. Eva Popoff** : Born 3-13-78 in Lyons, France. Graduated American University of Paris. Native language is French, but she speaks English, Russian, German, and Cantonese as well. It says she's excellent at managing large groups (herd control), but stiff with one-on-one situations. That's the polite way of saying she's the HR manager from hell. She's heavy on the “resources” aspect of the “human resources,” and just a shade above Catbert in attitude. She's usually right behind Crown on the intimidation roll and the most aggressive about launching the Datawraith project – safeguards be hung. Popoff is frankly the most batshit of the three, and completely shameless about the Datawraith project being able to appropriate anything from credit card data to state secrets, giving F-Con an _“unprecedented influence over people and nations...erasing any who oppose us!”_ She and Dillinger Sr. would probably work smashingly together. Hell, if I were to give him a mistress on the side, it would be her (and I'd pity Dillinger).

 

 **Esmond Baza** : Born 11-10-71 in Delhi, India. Educated in Leicester, UK. His file says he's self-critical and prone to bouts of depression. What it means is that he's pretty much been bullied by Crown and Popoff to be the code monkey and technical support guy for their scheme. His clothing is rumpled and his shirt hangs half-open. He's easily bribed _and_ intimidated, which means he's Crown's chew toy. Really, Baza is a weak man strung along by the nastier pair above, needed only for technical skills Crown and Popoff lack.

 

**Red Jet:** If I were to put him in a  _ Legacy _ scenario, I would probably make this guy Dyson's apprentice. He's certainly sadistic enough. He wears armoring with the same circuit pattern as Jet's standard blue appearance, but with Rinzler-red coloration, a scarlet cape over the top, and a crown-like headpiece. Inside his chambers, he's pretty much on User mode, torturing his unfortunate victims with painful electric shocks, tailor-made nightmares pulled from their minds, and the Hannibal Lecture cutting through their self-image and beliefs. He knows he is “merely a copy” and sees the digital world as little more than one of his custom-built nightmares. He hated Blue Jet for inheriting the algorithms, Legacy Code, and “humanity” he did not. You could just as easily read him as Jet's rage, depression and helplessness taken Program form. 

 

**Green Jet/“Clarence”** : Green Jet was not interested in heroism like Blue or empty and sadistic like Red. He was merely concerned with preserving his own existence at all costs. He's probably a manifestation of Jet's fears and insecurities as well as his creativity, as expressed by the self-created cartoon wonderland he makes for himself instead of the computer world. Green chain-smokes, cons, flatters, diverts...but he never actively hurts Blue, just tries to keep him away from discovering any truth that might jeopardize their separate existence. Green viewed Blue as an idiot who couldn't leave well enough alone and ruined everything by pursuing the truth, and Red as a weakling that looked into the abyss and snapped. Eventually Green and Red were integrated with Blue much the same way Flynn and Clu were integrated, but with a result that both killed all three of them and integrated them back into the same entity. 

 

And that concludes our tour of the alternate continuity/”lost sequels” of the first Tron film. Hopefully this guide helps anyone wanting to investigate the universe and encourages use of its fascinating characters and concepts. If you have anything to add to the guide or any remaining questions, please comment and I will address them.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading the essay! If you have anything further to add, remaining questions, or any corrections to make, please leave a comment to let me know.


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